‘Were
it left to me to decide whether, we should
have a government without newspapers or
newspapers without a government, I should
not hesitate to prefer the latter’

—
Thomas
Jefferson, third president of the United
States of America and a founding father of
the American Constitution.

We are not aware whether
the founding fathers of the Mahinda
Chinthanaya or the self declared
intellectual pundits of the plethora of
state media units that have mushroomed have
heard or are aware of these universally
accepted Jeffersonian values of governance
but it is quite apparent no such respect or
care is extended to safeguard the
independence of newspapers and other media
organisations of this country. If not, how
could a gang of armed goons in the early
hours of last Wednesday morning, walk into
the premises of a national newspaper group
situated in a high security zone and set
ablaze its press after driving out
defenceless employees?

Of course after such an
incident every one in this country is for a
free press as is evident from the post
incident statements. Winston Churchill in
the House of Commons, made the trite
observation: ‘Everyone is in favour of
free speech, not a day passes without it
being extolled…….. But if anyone says
anything back, that is an outrage.’ The
undeniable fact is that many government
leaders while paying pooja to a free
press and free expression have been outraged
at exposures and comments of The Leader
newspapers.

President Mahinda Rajapakse,
as it usually follows when such an outrage
is committed, has shown concern about the
attack on The Leader press and
ordered a full scale inquiry. But how many
such "full scale inquiries" have resulted in
the criminals concerned being apprehended?
It is no secret that today most of the
politically oriented crimes, even murders go
undetected. For the President making such
statements after the fact is simply damage
control especially in the backdrop of the
arson attack coming within a high security
zone which as Defence Minister comes
directly under his purview.

Leader Publications is
situated some hundreds of yards away from
the Ratmalana Airforce Base where military
planes are parked and is in a high security
zone. After dark, and even at times during
the day, those entering the zone have their
vehicles stopped and examined. Thus, how
could this gang of armed ruffians enter this
zone in two vehicles at pre dawn, vault over
the gates and then proceed to commit arson
by throwing petrol bombs on the machines and
setting them ablaze? The first line of
inquiry should be made from those
responsible for maintaining ‘high security.’

The next line of inquiry
should be why The Leader press should
be attacked. In mediaeval times those
opposed to certain opinions and facts,
particularly those ideas that were
entertained by the rulers and their
henchmen, had their books burnt, if they
were in conflict. The logic behind this book
burning was that books were few — quite
often there was only one copy — and by
burning them it was thought that the ideas
expressed in them could be destroyed for
ever.

In these days, the press
is the greatest disseminator of facts and
ideas. A newspaper is a record of
contemporary history with analyses and the
press turns them out daily by the thousands.
Thus, the thinking of the barbarians who
wanted to destroy The Leader press
was to suppress the facts published in these
newspapers which most other newspapers or
even the electronic media did not dare
publish.

But the buffoons who
ordered the goons to burn the press
obviously knew no history. Even some of
those who were burnt at stake centuries ago
for their views, are today hailed as some of
the greatest of thinkers of their time and
their thoughts have made human civilisation
progress. Thus whether books be burnt,
presses destroyed, TV and radios smashed up,
human thoughts and ideas in the minds of
people cannot and will not be destroyed.
They will flourish more.

The Leader does not
claim to be an infallible sacred text. It is
a newspaper but unlike many in existence in
Sri Lanka, one which strives hard to find
facts which affect the lives of the people
and the country and is not afraid to publish
and comment on them, irrespective of the
persons involved. We respect views that we
are not in agreement with and go along with
the thinking of Voltaire, the French
philosopher: ‘I disapprove of what you
say, but I will defend to death your right
to say it.’

We have not gone after
small fry but the big whales, the highest
and the biggest. We have named them and
exposed them — the political rogues in
saintly clothes with trays of flowers in
hand and ill-gotten gains in their bank
accounts, the death merchants who preach
patriotism, spend state funds for dud
armaments and collect millions of dollars
abroad, unqualified profligate wastrels who
reach high office by licking sandals and
being toadies to the powers that be and
spend thousands of dollars for luxury suites
in star class hotels while the poor at home
don’t have money to buy bread, brazen thugs
who disgrace the nation by picking up fights
in night clubs and encouraging their progeny
to do so, pious hypocrites who are supposed
to have given up all worldly pleasures and
dupe gullible women of their sainthood while
being unable to move without their tax free
luxury limousines, and state officials who
have diddled billions of rupees of state
funds have been some of our subjects. Only
such nefarious characters and their like
would like to see The Leader stop
publication.

The strange thing about
Sri Lankan democracy is that no action
follows such exposures nor are they denied
but what follows are vituperative personal
attacks to shift focus on the real issues.
The nation is in a stupor and the thick
skinned criminals of all varieties are
having a field day at public expense.

And when the going gets
tough, it is these very people who live off
the public purse that will be the first to
flee the country and take refuge in the West
where they have established their first
home.

We have named names
without fear and compunction and are open to
libel charges if we are wrong or told
untruths. Some have sent letters of demand
running to billions of rupees but not
followed up with court action. The fact that
we have not been fined or ordered to pay
these vast sums of money is proof of our
credibility despite the pressures the
judiciary itself has come under time and
again.

The raid on the press at
dawn on Wednesday is not a new experience to
Leader Publications, though
comparatively new in the publishing
business. Our press had been attacked
before. This press has been sealed once
under emergency regulations. The Editor,
Lasantha Wickrematunge has been assaulted
and his house peppered with machine gun
fire. Yet, we have not given up the basic
duty of a newspaper or been cowed down:
Reporting facts and commenting freely. In
today’s political climate where power, money
and influence have become the
thrividaratna — the three gems — once
independent newspapers and editors like
politicians have become pawns. Thus it is
all the more important that this newspaper
re-dedicates itself to the tasks it had
committed itself to — dedication to the
truth and fearlessness in exposing the
scoundrels posing off as saints and angels

This is by no means an
easy task in the present climate with the
ghouls closing in on the free press. It was
only very recently that press censorship was
about to be imposed when it was called off —
when we know not. Reporters are being
threatened and harassed. The experience
which one young reporter of this very
newspaper went through recently that was
given wide publicity is a case in point. We
refrain from going into details because the
matter is sub judice. Now comes the
warnings of the arsonists.

Today, journalists are
being murdered or disappearing but the
killers not found. One of the best known
journalists, Sivaram was bundled into a
vehicle opposite the Bambalapitiya Police
Station by unknown persons and his body was
found the next day. There are many
journalists in the north and east who have
been killed but the killers have gone free.
It is ironic that some high security zones
appear to be more risky than normal areas
with gross crimes committed and calamities
taking place such as the attack on our press
and the recent attack at Anuradhapura!

The attack on our press
came scarcely 24 hours after the ‘Great
Patriotic Victory’— the passing of the
budget. Great and patriotic it was, it was
claimed because the budget provided 17 per
cent of the expenditure for defence. The man
on the street would like to also know how
this ‘Great Victory’ would contribute to his
security, even in a high security zone.

Like all freedoms, freedom of the press
will not come on a platter. Journalists will
have to fight hard for this freedom like we
have done. We have risen from the ashes to
publish this edition, four days after the
despicable attack. We shall never surrender
our rights to downright thuggery. The public
knows whom we refer to. We will prevail and
march on, unbowed and unafraid.